NDP support ban on fracking

Stephen McNeil has muddied the waters again on the question of fracking. During a speech to the Chamber of Commerce, Mr. McNeil said he would be open to conversations with communities around fracking, even while his Liberal government says they support a ban on fracking.

The McNeil Liberals can’t have it both ways. We heard from Nova Scotians on this issue in 2014. The Wheeler Report was clear; there is neither the evidence nor the community support to justify the environmental risks of fracking.

Communities can be confident in the NDP’s position on fracking. We support continuing the ban on fracking and safeguarding our environment. Communities where there may be natural gas have raised their voices against the practice of fracking, and we support them.

As the Ecology Action Centre recently pointed out, there are almost 300,000 jobs in renewable energy and energy efficiency in Canada. The future is focused on green jobs, the McNeil Liberals should be focused there too.